The Eve of the First Task
by anonwriter64
Summary: Ever since Harry Potter's name came out of the Goblet of Fire, his life has been hell. When one night it gets too much, someone unexpected comes to his rescue. - Written for the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition Round 3.


CHASER 3: The Nati of Himachal Pradesh; write about a character who makes a friend that makes them peaceful (This can include feeling peaceful or curbing their violent tendencies)

Prompts:

#6: (quote) "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." Eleanor Roosevelt

#7: (object) snow

#12: (object) journal

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_November 23rd, 1994_

_I can't do this anymore. I can't do… anything, it feels like. Ever since my name came out of that bloody goblet, everyone has been after my head. It's been the world against me. Why can't it just not be me for once? _

_This whole month has been hell on earth for me - not only has Ron and pretty much everyone else in our house abandoned me, but even Hermione got way more distant over the last month. _

_Everything is back to square one, and I'm back to where I was when I started at Hogwarts - except now not only do I have nothing, but I've experienced what it's like to have __something__. _

_It feels like I'm stranded in the middle of an ocean during a storm - no option except for drowning…_

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The frigid, biting wind stung everything it could get at, and that was exactly the reason that the grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry were cold and barren on this particular November evening.

However, the wind finally gained a companion when a small brown-haired boy came darting out, straight towards the lake. Running as if there was someone after him, he stumbled towards the spot that he always found himself running to.

A rugged-looking journal held close to his chest, the boy heaved deeply in and out as if his life depended on it. His thin frame was rocking back and forth, and after a few moments, he opened his book and begin to write.

It would be clear to any bystander that something was very wrong with the boy - involuntary tears dripped onto the page as his hand shakily scrawled out what was on his mind. Words of distress and misery, of abandonment and despair.

While the boy was busy with venting his thoughts to the journal, a blonde girl of even smaller stature than the boy made her way across the grounds. She hadn't quite caught sight of the boy yet and seemed to be searching for something.

She crept around the edge of the large foreboding forest, peering in every few seconds while wearing a pair of violently purple glasses over her eyes.

When she spotted the boy, she paused only for a moment before lifting her glasses from her eyes, furrowing her eyebrows, and making her way towards him.

"You know, your head is completely infested with wrackspurts," spoke the blonde girl, with a soft, wispy tone.

Hearing another person so unexpectedly had an obvious effect on the boy - his back straightened and his hands flew to his face to wipe away the tears that he didn't want anyone else to see. His head whipped around, revealing an angry face with a lightning bolt scar.

Seeing the emotionless girl threw Harry for a double-take. He didn't recognize her at all - but it was obvious that she was a Ravenclaw because of her navy blue tie. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

The blonde tilted her head and a small smile came over her face, "Why, I'm Luna Lovegood. And you- well, you're Harry Potter, aren't you?"

Turning back to the lake and letting out a deep sigh, the boy muttered, "Yeah… that's me." _Of course_, he thought angrily, _a fangirl_. A moment of silence came over them again and the boy tensed his shoulders, asking, "You didn't answer my second question. What are you doing here?"

"Well," the girl started, a slightly unpleasant expression written across her face as she looked at the boy who so far hadn't been very polite. "I was looking for wrackspurts in the forest. What are _you _doing here?"

Leaning back on his hands, the boy looked up the sky, staring up as if cursing whatever being was up there for putting him in this situation. "I came to think - and I'd rather like it if you would leave."

Luna was completely taken aback. She had seen Harry Potter many times over the course of her tenure at Hogwarts, and he had always seemed kind. He always looked out for people who weren't treated fairly - people like her.

_It must be the wrackspurts_, she decided steadily in her mind.

Not willing to allow such a noble person to fall to the pesky creatures, Luna stomped her way to his side and sat down. "Perhaps if you tell me what's wrong, I can help you to get rid of the wrackspurts."

Harry turned to the girl with a strange look. _Maybe not a fangirl_, he thought to himself, _just crazy_. "What are wrackspurts?"

She tilted her head, giving a soft smile, and said, "Wrackspurts are creatures that infest people's minds. They distort your emotions; make you confused and angry."

Despite strongly doubting the truthfulness of the girl's statement, he didn't comment on it. He scoffed gently. "Well, I guess it would make sense that they'd be in my head," he muttered.

She shot him a serious look and nodded. "One of the heaviest infestations I've ever seen, almost as bad as that redhead friend of yours - Ronald, is it?"

Her words completely went over his head - he was too deep in thought. Many things were on his mind; the task tomorrow, what was happening with all of his friends, and now this mysterious girl who managed to catch him when he was having a full-blown mental breakdown.

Due to the lack of response from Harry's side, neither of them spoke for several minutes. Just them, their thoughts, and peaceful silence.

Luna could sense that the boy didn't want to talk, but when she saw that he was shivering from the cold. "Would you like me to cast a warming charm for you?"

Furrowing his eyebrows, Harry shook his head no. "And why not? It's only going to get worse. I heard some students saying that it was supposed to snow tonight," Luna said, tilting her head slightly in confusion.

No response.

Another few minutes passed, and Luna began to get bored. Right when she was about to leave, the snow began.

Immediately, Harry shivered, and Luna shot him a questioning look. He looked down for a moment before looking back up at Luna. "You know what - sure, go ahead," he muttered, slightly ashamed of himself for refusing before.

Luna smiled and pulled out her wand. She quickly cast the warming spell and the shivering of her companion stopped instantly. He muttered his thanks.

"So, Harry Potter, what's the real reason behind your… nightly escapade?" Luna asked, hoping to finally break through the boy's tough exterior.

Grimacing, Harry turned his head to the right, away from Luna. "You must have seen the things that have been happening to me since my name came out of the goblet," he said.

"What makes you think I would have noticed anything?"

Harry was thrown off his guard. He figured it would have been obvious - the tripping in the hallway, everyone stealing his items, the _buttons _for Merlin's sake! His whole world had been thrown off its axis: of course, it felt like everyone was watching. "I- I guess you're right - I shouldn't have assumed. I'm sorry."

She smiled slightly, after all, he had nothing to apologize for. He offered a small smile back and muttered, "Well, everyone has been going after me. Doing little things to make my life hell. If it was only a few things I would be fine, but it's every day, _constantly_. It never ends. Just because my name came out of a cup, and everyone thinks I put my name in myself!"

"You mean - you didn't put your name in?" Luna asked with genuine curiosity. The Goblet of Fire was notoriously difficult to mess with, and if Harry hadn't put his name in - who did? Most of the Ravenclaws had different ideas as to what had happened, but none of them assumed that Harry was being truthful about not putting his name in.

Exasperation took over the boy's features. "_No!_ For the last time, I did _not_ put my name in _that bloody cup_!"

The snow began to fall harder as if mirroring the boy's emotions. Frustrated tears began to leak from the boy's eyes and Luna couldn't help but purse her lips in worry. This was going to be more difficult than she thought it was going to be.

"Ok, ok," Luna muttered, her thoughts moving quickly. "Well, Harry, a wise Muggle once said that no one can make you feel inferior without your consent. You're allowing them to make you feel bad, and they're taking advantage of that. You have to stand tall; not fight back, but don't sit down and take it quietly. Find a calm middle ground."

Harry allowed himself to fall onto his back, now looking up at the sky with contemplative eyes. "I suppose you're right. Not doing anything about it hasn't been helping the situation at all. How do I find this 'calm middle ground' without going ballistic?"

A mysterious look covered Luna's face. "Well, you'll just have to figure that out for yourself, now won't you?"

Running his fingers through his hair, Harry let out a deep sigh. "Well, I should probably try and survive the first task tomorrow before worrying about anything else."

"Perhaps that would be a good idea," Luna laughed quietly. Neither spoke for a few moments, just digesting what had happened before Luna slid her glasses down over her eyes. "Wow, some of the wrackspurts have flown away already!"

Harry smiled, standing up. He turned to Luna and offered his hand to help her up. "It was very nice to meet you, Luna Lovegood, but I think it might be best if I go inside - it's quite chilly even with this charm, don't you think?" He offered kindly, very different from his icy exterior from earlier.

Luna took the hand and allowed him to help her up. "The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Potter. And I quite agree, would you like to walk in together?"

A nod later, the pair stood up and made their way back to the castle. The snow had completely stopped and even the wind had calmed a little bit.

The small amount of snow that was on the ground had completely disappeared by the next morning - the morning of the first task of the Triwizard Tournament.

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_November 24th, 2019_

_Everything felt so convoluted last night, up until the point that I met Luna Lovegood. Something about her just flipped a switch in my mind. Maybe it was the fact that she seemed so innocent as if the world hadn't quite messed up her whole life yet. She almost seemed like a child who was wise beyond their years._

_I can't seem to put my finger on the thing that changed my whole mood, but at the same time, I just can't stop thinking about it. Strange._

_Although I didn't end up needing her advice, I'm happy I got it. In the future, I need to know that I can't just let everyone push me around anymore. And there has to be a gray area in between being a pushover and screaming at people. _

_I feel so much clearer now, I'm in a different state of mind. Maybe she really did clear out the wrackspurts…. _


End file.
